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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oyster girl, Nancy Astley's, life is changed as she experiences a sexual awakening starting with performer Kitty Butler, a woman who dresses like and puts on a show. Nancy goes from being an admirer with a crush, to Kitty's dresser, her lover, and eventually her performing partner, Unfortunately, societal expectations force them apart, and Nancy experiences her new found sexuality in dark heartbreaking ways.
This erotic and beautiful novel fascinated me with its heartbreaking story about this young woman's journey from Oyster girl to a Drag King. Nancy goes through so much just be her true self, even sacrificing her dignity in the process. I only hated one of the characters that came into Nancy's life, Diana. Her lifestyle wasn't my cup of tea, but I understood it and I get Nancy being susceptible to it. I hated how Diana treated her and there is one part during her time with Diana that made me uncomfortable to read. Water's writing is on par and makes for a relaxing story that includes enough description that you can easily picture in your head. She's uses the F word a few times and there are some scenes with a the characters using a dildo. It is a tragic but hopeful story by the end.
This erotic and beautiful novel fascinated me with its heartbreaking story about this young woman's journey from Oyster girl to a Drag King. Nancy goes through so much just be her true self, even sacrificing her dignity in the process. I only hated one of the characters that came into Nancy's life, Diana. Her lifestyle wasn't my cup of tea, but I understood it and I get Nancy being susceptible to it. I hated how Diana treated her and there is one part during her time with Diana that made me uncomfortable to read. Water's writing is on par and makes for a relaxing story that includes enough description that you can easily picture in your head. She's uses the F word a few times and there are some scenes with a the characters using a dildo. It is a tragic but hopeful story by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Grief
abbie_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
After reading Gentleman Jack, a book about Anne Lister, in December, I was keen to read more Sarah Waters. Although she acknowledges it’s not historically accurate per se, she’s shining a spotlight on queer relationships that were undoubtedly happening in 19th century England, but were just never talked about or named publicly.
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Tipping the Velvet is set in the late 1800s and, I don’t really like the word ‘romp’, but it fits this book perfectly. At surface level it’s an entertaining and, indeed, saucy Victorian romp, but if you look more critically at it (and I don’t mean in terms of historical accuracy), it is flawed. Waters herself admits that, there’s a very interesting article about her thoughts on Tipping the Velvet, her debut, in The Guardian. She basically lists everything I also thought was not so great about it, and it’s refreshing that an author can talk critically about their own work! Namely, Nan is supposed to be confident and sexy but often comes across very selfish, a Black character just feeds Nan’s character development, and it needs cutting by at least 100 pages.
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While it’s definitely not perfect, I appreciate Waters writing lesbian characters into history where, although their real-life counterparts did exist, they have previously flown under the radar.
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Only one Sarah Waters left for me now - let’s hope her editor was braver with The Night Watch!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Racism
cleo_wylde's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's something in this book that really touched me in my own understanding of my queerness, of my identity within the queer world. I found myself feeling suddenly quite emotional as Nan explores and discovers new sides of her identity and her attraction to women. The writing is also beautiful, and transported me to scattered worlds of secret kisses and passions or of bold caresses in liminal spaces of acceptance/lust/desire. The love and lust stories that develop across the book carry through many of the different shades of queer relationships: love kept secret in case it scares the other person off, tiptoeing around an unsaid truth, furtive kisses in case someone sees, gender roles adopted and dropped, lust and pleasure, romance and companionship, etc. Seeing different flavours of gender and sexuality in the late 19th century was an added delight - I love some old timey queers!
I'm glad I've finally read this, after ignoring it on my bookshelf for a while, having dismissed it as "iconic because it's about lesbians, not because it's actually good". I'll definitely read it again, and am now really looking forward to reading Fingersmith.
I'm glad I've finally read this, after ignoring it on my bookshelf for a while, having dismissed it as "iconic because it's about lesbians, not because it's actually good". I'll definitely read it again, and am now really looking forward to reading Fingersmith.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
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